U.S. patent application number 14/353587 was filed with the patent office on 2014-09-18 for information processing device, information processing method, and program.
This patent application is currently assigned to SONY CORPORATION. The applicant listed for this patent is Sony Corporation. Invention is credited to Takehiro Hagiwara, Mayu Irimajiri, Mitsuhiro Miyazaki, Ryo Nakahashi, Mami Okumura.
Application Number | 20140282733 14/353587 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47215694 |
Filed Date | 2014-09-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140282733 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Okumura; Mami ; et
al. |
September 18, 2014 |
INFORMATION PROCESSING DEVICE, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, AND
PROGRAM
Abstract
An information processing apparatus includes a display and a
controller that controls display of a current program. The
controller also controls display of a plurality of first images in
a first arrangement. Each first image corresponds to content of the
current program. The controller additionally controls display of a
plurality of second images in a second arrangement. Each second
image corresponds to content associated with a user.
Inventors: |
Okumura; Mami; (Kanagawa,
JP) ; Irimajiri; Mayu; (Tokyo, JP) ; Hagiwara;
Takehiro; (Tokyo, JP) ; Nakahashi; Ryo;
(Tokyo, JP) ; Miyazaki; Mitsuhiro; (Kanagawa,
JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Sony Corporation |
Tokyo |
|
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
SONY CORPORATION
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
47215694 |
Appl. No.: |
14/353587 |
Filed: |
October 31, 2012 |
PCT Filed: |
October 31, 2012 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/JP2012/007001 |
371 Date: |
April 23, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
725/46 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 21/472 20130101;
H04N 21/4788 20130101; H04N 21/4826 20130101; H04N 21/4314
20130101; H04N 5/44591 20130101; H04N 21/4316 20130101; H04N 21/47
20130101; H04N 5/44543 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
725/46 |
International
Class: |
H04N 21/482 20060101
H04N021/482; H04N 21/472 20060101 H04N021/472 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 4, 2011 |
JP |
2011-242025 |
Claims
1. An information processing apparatus comprising: a display; and a
controller to control: display of a current program; display of a
plurality of first images in a first arrangement, wherein each
first image corresponds to content of the current program; and
display of a plurality of second images in a second arrangement,
wherein each second image corresponds to content associated with a
user.
2. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the
first arrangement is a first axis.
3. The information processing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the
controller controls display of the first images by aligning the
first images on the first axis in order based on relevance of each
first image to the content of the current program.
4. The information processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the
controller controls scrolling of the first images, wherein, in the
event that the first images are scrolled in a direction of
increased relevancy of each first image to the content of the
current program, the controller controls the display of each
successive first image to be more relevant to a user preference,
and wherein, in the event that the first images are scrolled in a
direction of decreased relevancy of each first image to the content
of the current program, the controller controls the display of each
successive first image to be less relevant to the user
preference.
5. The information processing apparatus of claim 4, further
comprising an output information calculation unit configured to
determine the relevance of each first image to the content of the
current program by calculating a relevance score for each first
image, the output information calculation unit comprising: a
relevance information acquisition unit configured to extract
information relevant to the current program; a trend information
acquisition unit configured to acquire booming data for the
extracted information, wherein the booming data indicates a degree
of popularity of the first image relative to the content of the
current program as determined during a predetermined period of
Internet usage; and an information extraction unit configured to
generate the relevance score based on the extracted information and
the booming data.
6. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the
second arrangement is a second axis.
7. The information processing apparatus of claim 6, wherein the
controller controls display of the second images by aligning the
second images on the second axis in order based on a relevance of
each second image to the content associated with the user.
8. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the
controller receives a selection of a first image or a second image,
and controls display of an updated program associated with the
selected image, wherein the updated program is displayed at a
location where the current program was displayed.
9. The information processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the
controller controls the display by removing the plurality of first
images from the display and displaying a plurality of third images
in the first arrangement, wherein each third image corresponds to
content of the updated program.
10. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the
controller receives an instruction as input to change display of
the first images, and in the first arrangement, each of the first
images is displayed a predetermined distance from the current
program such that the first images surround the current
program.
11. The information processing apparatus of claim 10, wherein a
length of the predetermined distance is proportional to a relevance
of the corresponding first image to the current program.
12. A computer-implemented method executed by a processor, the
method comprising: displaying a current program; displaying a
plurality of first images in a first arrangement, wherein each
first image corresponds to content of the current program; and
displaying a plurality of second images in a second arrangement,
wherein each second image corresponds to content associated with a
user.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first arrangement is a
first axis.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first images are aligned on
the first axis in order based on relevance of each first image to
the content of the current program.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: scrolling of the
first images; in the event that the first images are scrolled in a
direction of increased relevancy of each first image to the content
of the current program, displaying each successive first image to
be more relevant to a user preference; and in the event that the
first images are scrolled in a direction of decreased relevancy of
each first image to the content of the current program, displaying
each successive first image to be less relevant to the user
preference.
16. The method of claim 12, wherein the second arrangement is a
second axis.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising aligning the second
images on the second axis in order based on a relevance of each
second image to the content associated with the user.
18. The method of claim 12, further comprising: receiving a
selection of a first image or a second image; and displaying an
updated program associated with the selected image, wherein the
updated program is displayed at a location where the current
program was displayed.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: removing the
plurality of first images from the display; and displaying a
plurality of third images in the first arrangement, wherein each
third image corresponds to content of the updated program.
20. The method of claim 12, further comprising: receiving an
instruction as input to change display of the first images, and in
the first arrangement, displaying each of the first images a
predetermined distance from the current program such that the first
images surround the current program.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein a length of the predetermined
distance is proportional to a relevance of the corresponding first
image to the current program.
22. The method of claim 12, further comprising determining the
relevance of each first image to the content of the current program
by calculating a relevance score for each first image.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein calculating the relevance score
comprises combining a connection score and a booming score, the
connection score indicating a degree of relevance of information
extracted from the current program, and the booming score
indicating a degree of popularity of the first image relative to
the content of the current program as determined during a
predetermined period of Internet usage.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent
Application No. JP 2011-242025 filed in the Japanese Patent Office
on Nov. 4, 2011, the entire content of which is incorporated herein
by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to an information processing
device, an information processing method, and a program.
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] In recent years, due to the proliferation of the Internet
and mobile terminals such as portable equipment, information
present in the world has increased explosively and diversified. In
this regard, Japanese Patent Application JP 2011-138197A discloses
that information is extracted based on relevance among information
elements.
SUMMARY
Technical Problem
[0004] However, a total number of pieces of content that can be
read by a user is limited, so that it is difficult for the user to
read all information. In addition, since the change in information
is deficient when the information is presented or recommended to
the user based on information evaluation by virtue of the
information relevance, it is difficult to present the user with
fresh information in conformity with the user's interests. For this
reason, a structure capable of visually presenting users with fresh
information in conformity with the users' interests among a large
quantity of flooding information has been desired.
Solution to Problem
[0005] In one illustrative embodiment, an information processing
apparatus includes: a display; and a controller to control: display
of a current program; display of a plurality of first images in a
first arrangement, wherein each first image corresponds to content
of the current program; and display of a plurality of second images
in a second arrangement, wherein each second image corresponds to
content associated with a user.
[0006] In another illustrative embodiment, a computer-implemented
method is executed by a processor and includes: displaying a
current program; displaying a plurality of first images in a first
arrangement, wherein each first image corresponds to content of the
current program; and displaying a plurality of second images in a
second arrangement, wherein each second image corresponds to
content associated with a user.
Advantageous Effects of Invention
[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to
visually present a user with fresh information in conformity with
the user's interests among a large quantity of flooding
information.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a display
screen of a system in accordance with an embodiment of the present
disclosure;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a case in which a
user has selected content in a vertical band;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a case in which a
user has focused on the content in a vertical band;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state focused
on the content in a horizontal band;
[0012] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in
which the content of FIG. 1 in the vertical band is radially
arranged around content of a seed;
[0013] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating variations of
arrangement of seed content of, booming content relevant to content
being watched, and booming content based on the interests of a
user;
[0014] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating variations of
arrangement of seed content of, booming content relevant to content
being watched, and booming content based on the interests of a
user;
[0015] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a main portion of
a system in accordance with an embodiment of the present
disclosure;
[0016] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process in accordance
with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0017] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a specific
example of a configuration in accordance with an embodiment of the
present disclosure;
[0018] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a specific process in
accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0019] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a score
calculation technique;
[0020] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a specific
algorithm;
[0021] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which
celebrities B to D are acquired by increasing the number of hops
with respect to a celebrity A;
[0022] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of
score calculation;
[0023] FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in
which each piece of information is arranged based on the calculated
score;
[0024] FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating
individualization of the score calculation technique by a user;
[0025] FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in
which a user directly inputs a celebrity on whom information is to
be obtained;
[0026] FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in
which a user directly inputs a "celebrity A" from a television
receiver;
[0027] FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in
which information other than that on a celebrity is input to an
input unit;
[0028] FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in
which information on complementation between information is
presented;
[0029] FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram specifically illustrating
information connecting two pieces of information described in FIG.
21;
[0030] FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram illustrating a technique of
extracting content that connects content to content in FIG. 22;
and
[0031] FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example
of FIG. 10.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0032] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure
will be described in detail with reference to the appended
drawings. Note that, in this specification and the appended
drawings, structural elements that have substantially the same
function and structure are denoted with the same reference
numerals, and repeated explanation of these structural elements is
omitted.
[0033] In addition, the description will be made in the following
order:
1. Example of configuration of user interface of system according
to embodiment of present disclosure 2. Example of configuration of
system according to embodiment of present disclosure 3. Specific
example of configuration according to embodiment of present
disclosure
1. Example of Configuration of User Interface of System According
to Embodiment of Present Disclosure
[0034] First, a configuration of a user interface of a system 100
according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be
described with reference to FIG. 1. FIGS. 1 to 5 are schematic
diagrams illustrating display screens of the system 100 according
to embodiments of the present disclosure. The system 100 according
to embodiments of the present disclosure has a display screen 102
(touch panel) on which a touch operation may be carried out, and
illustrates herein an example of a device capable of receiving
television broadcasting waves and being connected to a network. In
addition, the system 100 is not limited to the case in which the
touch operation is carried out on the display screen 102 but may be
employed in cases in which operations are input by other operation
input units (including a keyboard, a mouse, various recognition
techniques such as infrared light, a remote controller, and so
forth).
[0035] As shown in FIG. 1, in the center of the display screen 102,
content (a moving image) 104 being watched by a user is displayed
in the center of the display screen 102. Hereinafter, the content
being displayed in the center of the display screen 102 may be
referred to as seed content. Here, a case in which the user watches
a song program is illustrated as an example. Information on the
electronic program listings relevant to the content 104 (a title of
the content, channel information, names of cast members, and so
forth), and so forth is displayed around the content 104. Text
information relevant to the content is displayed to the right of
the content 104.
[0036] A plurality of pieces of content (pieces of content 106 in a
vertical band/pieces of content 108 in a horizontal band) are
displayed around the seed content 104 at the same time. The pieces
of content 106 in the vertical band are arranged in upper and lower
directions to the left of the seed content 104, are relevant to the
content 104 being watched, and are displayed as booming content
(SNS, VoD, broadcasting, and so forth). The pieces of content 108
in the horizontal band are arranged in right and left directions
below the seed content 104, and are displayed as content based on
the user's interests (weather forecast, favorite actor or actress,
SNS of the user, and so forth). The pieces of content 106 and 108
in the vertical and horizontal bands are content of multisources
(multimedia), and include not only information received from the
television broadcasting waves but also various information such as
information acquired from the web (YouTube, Twitter), and so forth.
The pieces of content 106 are relevant to the content 104,
extracted from the television broadcasting waves, the web, and so
forth by an engine that will be described later and then
displayed.
[0037] The pieces of content 106 arranged to the left of the
content 104 have high booming values as topics with respect to the
content 104. That is, the pieces of content 106 are relevant to the
content 104 and also relate to information having high boom
(popularity) among the public. The pieces of content 106 are
arranged in a vertical (upper and lower) direction in a booming
value order.
[0038] In addition, the pieces of content 106 are arranged based on
the taste of the user. When the pieces of content 106 are arranged
on the upper side, the pieces of content are general ones far from
the user's interests, and when the pieces of content 106 are
arranged on the lower side, the pieces of content are closer to the
user's interests. That is, when the pieces of content 106 are
arranged on the upper side, the pieces of content have high booming
values but are unrelated to the user's interests. On the other
hand, when the pieces of content 106 are arranged to be on the
lower side, the pieces of content have lower booming values
compared to the pieces of content 106 arranged on the upper side
but are closer to the user's interests.
[0039] The pieces of content 106 in the vertical band may be moved
in upper and lower directions by scroll operations. When the screen
of FIG. 1 is displayed for the first time, the content 106a
positioned to the left of the content 104 has strong relevance to
the seed content 104 and is also content having a high booming
value.
[0040] When the pieces of content 106 are scrolled down, the pieces
of content 106 "closer" to the user's interests are displayed.
Meanwhile, when the pieces of content 106 are scrolled up, the
pieces of content 106 "farther" from the user's interests are
displayed. The scroll may be performed by touch operations on the
display screen 102.
[0041] The pieces of content 108 in the horizontal band are usually
displayed with no relevance to the seed content 104, and the pieces
of content most suiting the user's interests are displayed. That
is, the pieces of content 108 are information to be watched and
checked by the user, and favorite information of the user. For
example, the pieces of content 108 are extracted by an information
processing device 100 based on keywords registered by the user and
then displayed. In addition, when the interests of the user are
already accumulated in an external server, a network, or the like,
the pieces of content 108 extracted based on the accumulated
interests are displayed. In addition, even when the information
processing device 100 is not connected to the network, interest
information of the user may be accumulated by the information
processing device 100 in association with operations of the user,
and pieces of content 108 may be extracted and displayed based on
the accumulated interest information.
[0042] In addition, arrangement of the pieces of content 106 and
108 is not limited to the case described above, and the pieces of
content 106 may be arranged in the horizontal band and the pieces
of content 108 may be arranged in the vertical band. Even in this
case, the pieces of content 106 in the horizontal band may be
arranged such that the degree of interest of the user increases
when the pieces of content are closer to the pieces of content 108
in the vertical band.
[0043] The user may acquire detailed information on the selected
pieces of content 106 and 108 by selecting (double-tapping/enter
key operation/determination) the respective pieces of content 106
and 108 displayed on the display screen 102. FIG. 2 is a schematic
diagram illustrating the case in which the user has selected the
pieces of content 106 in the vertical band. As shown in FIG. 2,
when the user selects any one of the pieces of content 106 in the
vertical band, the content 106 is displayed in the center (seed) of
the display screen 102. When the selected content 106 does not fit
within one screen of the display screen 102, a scroll bar is
displayed to allow the pieces of content 106 to be checked while
scrolling through a layout of the pieces of content 106 being
held.
[0044] FIG. 3 illustrates the case in which the user has focused on
the content 106a in the vertical band, that is, the case in which
the user puts an operating finger on the content 106a without
selecting the content 106a. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, a
reason for relevance 109 between the content 104 being watched and
the content 106a is displayed to the right of the seed content 104.
In addition, the surrounding of the focused content 106a is
highlighted and the content 106a is displayed to be floated in the
front. In addition, by focusing on the content 106a, lower portions
of pieces of the content 106 in the vertical band overlap the
pieces of content 108 in the horizontal band and then displayed.
When the highlighted content 106 is determined by operating the
double-tap or the enter key in this state, the pieces of content
106 may be selected so that the pieces of content 106 become seeds
and displayed in the center of the display screen 102 as shown in
FIG. 2.
[0045] FIG. 4 illustrates the state in which the pieces of content
108 in the horizontal band are focused on. As in the pieces of
content 106 in the vertical band, when one of the pieces of content
108 in the horizontal band is focused on, the surroundings of the
focused content 108 are highlighted and the content 108 is
displayed to be floated in the front. When the highlighted content
108 is determined by operating the double-tap or the enter key in
this state, the content 108 may be selected, and the content 108
becomes a seed. As shown in FIG. 4, when the pieces of content 108
in the horizontal band are focused, a left portion of the pieces of
content 108 in the horizontal band overlap the pieces of content
106 in the vertical band and are then displayed.
[0046] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in
which the pieces of content 106 in the vertical band of FIG. 1 are
radially arranged around the seed content 104. The seed content 104
is displayed in the center of the display screen 102. The pieces of
content 106 in the vertical band shown in FIG. 1 are radially
displayed around the content 104. The intensity of the relevance
between the pieces of content 106 and the content 104 can be, for
example, indicated by a distance between the pieces of radially
displayed content 106 and the seed content 104. Or the intensity of
the booming can be represented by a thickness of the line 110
connecting the content 104 with the content 106 or a size of the
content 106 on the display screen 102. For example, the line 110 is
displayed as a thicker line when the booming value of the content
106 increases. In addition, the size may be displayed to be larger
on the display screen 102 when the booming value of the content 106
increases.
[0047] The relevance to the user's interests is also represented in
accordance positions of the pieces of content 106 in upper and
lower directions in FIG. 5. The pieces of content 106 arranged in
upper positions are far from the user's interests, and the pieces
of content 106 arranged in lower positions are closer to the user's
interests. The pieces of content 106 may be moved in the upper and
lower directions by the scroll. It is thus possible for the user to
scroll through the screen and recognize from the pieces of content
106 close to the user's interests to the pieces of content 106 far
from the interests on the display screen 102.
[0048] In addition, in FIG. 5, the pieces of content 108 in the
horizontal band are arranged in right and left directions in the
lower portion of the screen as in FIG. 1. More of the pieces of
content 108 in the horizontal band are displayed in FIG. 5 than in
FIG. 1.
[0049] A date and a time are displayed on the lower right side of
the display screen 102. In addition, a user name is displayed on
the lower left side of the display screen 102. Since the user's
interests are different for each user, the information processing
device 100 carries out different display for each user in
accordance with the user name.
[0050] According to the display of FIG. 5, since more of the pieces
of content 106 and 108 are displayed in comparison with the display
of FIG. 1, display perspicuity may be enhanced. In addition, the
relevance between the pieces of content 106 and the content 104 and
the booming value may be visually recognized based on a distance
between the pieces of content 104 and the pieces of content 106, a
thickness of the line 110, and sizes of the pieces of content
106.
[0051] As described with reference to FIG. 3, when one of the
pieces of content 106 is focused on, a relevance reason 109
indicating a connection between the content 104 and the focused
content 106 is displayed to the right of the content 104. In this
case, the relevance reason 109 to the right of the content 104 is
changed and displayed in accordance with the focused content
106.
[0052] In addition, as another example, when program information
based on the electronic program listing is displayed to the right
of the content 104, a portion having a high relevance to the
focused content 106 is highlighted among the text of the program
information. In this case, when other content 106 is focused on,
the highlight position of the text of the program information is
changed in accordance with the connection between the focused
content 106 and the content 104.
[0053] This configuration enables the user to know how the
highlighted content 106 is connected to the content 104.
Accordingly, when the user selects the content 106, a variety of
information regarding the content 106 may be given.
[0054] FIGS. 6 and 7 are schematic diagrams illustrating variations
of arrangement of the seed content 104, the booming content 106
relevant to the content 104 being watched, and the booming content
108 based on the user's interests.
[0055] In FIGS. 6 and 7, the seed content 104 is "R," the booming
content 106 relevant to the content 104 being watched is "P," and
the booming content 108 based on the user's interests is "Q."
[0056] FIG. 6 illustrates an example in which the pieces of booming
content 108 ("Q") based on the user's interests are arranged in a
row on a lower side of the display screen 102 and the pieces of
content 106 ("P") are arranged in several columns (herein, two
columns) in a similar way to FIG. 1. Here, in FIG. 6A, the pieces
of content 106 are arranged in two columns to the left of the seed
content 104. As a result, the seed content 104 is disposed slightly
to the right from the center of the display screen 102. In
addition, FIG. 6B illustrates an example in which the pieces of
content 106 are arranged in one column each to the right and left
of the seed content 104.
[0057] FIG. 7 illustrates examples in which the booming content 108
("Q") based on the user's interests is not displayed. Among these,
FIG. 7A illustrates an example in which the seed content 104 ("R")
is disposed in the center of the upper and lower directions of the
display screen 102 and the pieces of content 106 ("P") are disposed
above and below the seed content 104 ("R"). In addition, FIG. 7B
illustrates an example in which the seed content 104 ("R") is
disposed in a relatively narrow range on the lower left side of the
display screen 102 and the pieces of content 106 ("P") are disposed
in a relatively large range of the display screen 102.
[0058] In addition, FIG. 7C illustrates an example in which the
seed content 104 ("R") is disposed in a relatively narrow range on
the upper center side of the display screen 102 and the pieces of
content 106 ("P") are disposed in a relatively large range of the
display screen 102. In addition, FIG. 7D illustrates an example in
which the display range of the seed content 104 ("R") is wider than
in FIG. 7C.
[0059] In any of FIGS. 6 and 7, the shape of the area of the
content is not particularly limited, and various shapes such as a
square, a rectangle, a polygon, a circle, and so forth may be used.
In addition, in the content arrangement, various shapes such as
concentric circles, a random arrangement, and so forth may be used.
In addition, the arrangement order may not be purely a score order
or may be a random order.
[0060] According to the user interface described above, the booming
or current information of the world may be immediately confirmed
while watching the video content. In addition, things that concern
the user (weather, traffic information, and so forth) may be
confirmed at any time. In addition, it is also possible to carry
out examination when the user wants to know more.
[0061] In addition, the content close to/far from the user's
interests may be found and selected from the displayed booming
content by merely scrolling up and down without changing the
screen. In addition, relevance to the topic, the knowledge, a
relevant person/event with respect to a specific target (a
celebrity or the like)/event may be visually recognized.
[0062] In addition, it is possible to expand a range of the user's
interests and also to extract meaningful information for the user
from a large quantity of information accumulated on the World Wide
Web (www) and so forth.
2. Example of Configuration of System Relevant to Present
Embodiment
[0063] Next, an example of the configuration of the system relevant
to the present embodiment will be described based on the algorithm
extracting the pieces of content 106 and 108. In the present
embodiment, "knowledge" and "trends (booming)" in the world are
used, and the pieces of content 106 and 108 (in particular, the
pieces of content 106) are provided as information for widening the
user's interests. The pieces of content 106 relevant to the content
104 correspond to the "knowledge," and the pieces of content 106
having a high booming value correspond to the "trends."
[0064] Nowadays, information currently present in the world is
increasing explosively and is diversifying. In particular, places
in which ordinary people provide information have become pervasive
with the development of the Web. Meanwhile, the total number of the
pieces of content that the user may see is limited. For this
reason, effectively sending a large quantity of information to the
user is becoming an important topic. From this point of view, an
approach using the connection (relevance) of the information and an
approach using the "booming" of the information are employed in the
present embodiment.
[0065] The approach using the "connection" of the information and
an approach using the "booming" of the information have merits and
demerits. The approach using the "connection" of the information
provides information connected to the user's interests and
information in which the user is likely to feel interest. In this
case, there are demerits that the change in information is short
and is likely to be tired of. This is due to that the connection
relevance is static information to some extent and the target of
the user's interests is fixed.
[0066] The approach using the booming provides newest information
in consideration of the booming and also provides information
having a high watching value that the user still does not know
about. In this case, there is a demerit that the user does not
individually have an interest because the booming is general.
[0067] For this reason, specific information in which the user
feels interest is used as a key, and the user is provided with
information using the connection information and the booming
information for the same in the present embodiment. In this case,
the user is provided with the information using the score (degree
of importance) of the information to be provided. The score (degree
of importance) of the information to be provided is used by mixing
the connection score (connection intensity) and the booming
score.
[0068] In addition, the "trend" and the "booming" indicate the
degree of popularity or interest with respect to a specific topic
in a predetermined group. In addition, the "booming data" and the
"booming score (booming value) indicate the degree of popularity or
concern with respect to the predetermined topic in the
predetermined group. For example, evaluation is carried out from
the state in which an amount of information regarding the topic is
large in a predetermined period in the Internet, broadcasting, and
so forth. In particular, it is detected that phrases relevant to
the most recent topic are written in a predetermined homepage. For
example, the booming score may be evaluated to be high based on the
fact that there are many pages including the relevant phrases on
Twitter or the like. In addition, evaluation may be carried out
based on the frequency with which phrases relevant to the most
recent topic are searched in the Internet, and the booming score
may thus be evaluated to be high when the relevant phrases are
searched frequently. Aside from this, it is also possible to
evaluate the booming score from an increasing rate of search
frequency, and the booming score may be determined to be high when
the increasing rate is high. In addition, it is also possible to
evaluate the booming score based on information regarding
marketing. For example, the booming score may be evaluated to be
high when many products relevant to the topic are sold.
[0069] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a main part of
the system of the present embodiment. The system of the present
embodiment includes an input unit 202, an output unit 204, an
output information calculation unit 206, a display control unit
207, booming data (a database) 208, connection data (a database)
210, and an operation input unit 211. Information to be acquired is
input to the input unit 202. In the example of FIG. 1, information
on the content 104 is input to the input unit 202. Information
input to the input unit 202 (input information) is sent to the
output information calculation unit 206. A relevance information
acquisition unit 206a of the output information calculation unit
206 extracts information relevant (connected) to the content 104
from the connected data 210.
[0070] In addition, a trend information acquisition unit 206b of
the output information calculation unit 206 acquires strong booming
information from the booming data 208 with respect to the relevant
information extracted from the connection data 210. An information
extraction unit 206c of the output information calculation unit 206
outputs information extracted based on the intensity of relevance
and the intensity of the booming to the output unit 204. The output
unit 204 is a display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), or
the like, for example. The display control unit 207 carries out
control for displaying information extracted based on the intensity
of the relevance and the intensity of the booming. In particular,
the display control unit 207 carries out the control for displaying
the display described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 on the display
unit (output unit 204). In addition, the operation input unit 211
is a component such as a touch pad (a touch panel), a mouse, a
keyboard, and so forth, and has an operation input by the user. The
display control unit 207 controls the display in accordance with
the operation of the user input to the operation unit 211.
[0071] In addition, the components shown in FIG. 8 may include a
central operation processing device such as a circuit (hardware) or
a CPU, and a program (software) for functioning as the same. In
this case, the program may be stored in various recording media
such as a hard disk, various memories, or an externally inserted
disc-type recording medium. In addition, the program may be stored
in the various memories, the recording medium, and so forth by
being downloaded via a communication circuit network such as the
Internet or the like.
[0072] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process of the present
embodiment. First, in step S10, information is input to the input
unit 202. Next, in step S12, the connection data 210 is used, and
the relevance information connected to the input information is
acquired. Next, in step S14, the booming data 208 is used, and the
trend information regarding the acquired relevance information is
acquired. Next, in step S16, the information is output from the
output unit 204.
3. Specific Example of Configuration of Present Embodiment
[0073] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a specific
example of the configuration of the present embodiment. In the
example illustrated in FIG. 10, the example in which the system 100
is configured by the server 300 and the television receiver 400 is
illustrated.
[0074] The seed content 104 being watched by the user is input to
the input unit 202. The content 104 includes information, for
example, cast members, program titles, and so forth. Here, the cast
members are referred to as a relevant person group A. The output
information calculation unit 206 extracts a celebrity group B
connected to the relevant person group A from the connection data
210a of the celebrities. Here, a celebrity relevance calculation
unit 220 illustrated in FIG. 10 calculates the connection of a
celebrity in advance from the information of any external server to
be reflected on the connection data 210a of the celebrity. Here,
the celebrity relevance calculation unit 220, as an example,
calculates the connection of the celebrity in advance based on
Wikipedia to be reflected on the connection data 210a of the
celebrity.
[0075] In addition, the booming information extraction unit 230
acquires the booming data regarding the celebrity, and reflects the
booming score on the information regarding the celebrity stored in
the booming data 208a. Here, the booming information extraction
unit 230, as an example, acquires the booming data regarding the
celebrity from Twitter, and reflects the booming score on the
information regarding the celebrity stored in the booming data
208a. The output information calculation unit 206 acquires the
strong booming information on the celebrity group B extracted from
the connection data 210a of the celebrity, from the booming data
208a. The output information calculation unit 206 outputs the
information to the output unit 204 based on the intensity of the
relevance and the intensity of the booming.
[0076] In addition, when the connection and the booming are
acquired, an information source may be filtered. For example, when
the user does not use Twitter but normally uses Facebook, Facebook
is used as the information source. For example, the information
indicating that the user uses Facebook is sent from the television
receiver 400 to the server 300, which may be recognized by the
server 300, and Facebook may thus be used instead of Twitter as the
information source.
[0077] Next, a specific process of the output information
calculation unit 206 will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart
illustrating a specific process of the present embodiment. It is
first assumed that relevance depth D searched on the relevant
person group A and a number of acquired pieces of information N are
given. First, in step S20, content C is acquired as the content 104
being watched. Next, in step S22, a seed group Rs for acquiring the
relevance, a seed group Bs for acquiring a topic, and an initial
value of a depth K being searched are set. In step S24, it is
determined whether K is equal to or less than D, and the loop of
step S24 to step S26 is entered when K is equal to or less than
D.
[0078] In step S26, a seed group including the seed group Rs for
acquiring the relevance and the seed group Bs for acquiring the
topic is acquired and is regarded as a new Bs value (Bs<-Rs U
Bs). Accordingly, the celebrity group Bs is expanded by the Rs.
Accordingly, the celebrity group connected to the Rs thus far is
searched to be set as a new Rs. At the same time, the value of the
flag K is incremented by one (K<-K+1). Accordingly, the relevant
seed group Bs proceeded by one hop may be obtained. By repeating
the loop of step S24 to step S26, a wide range of the seed group Bs
that is less relevant is searched.
[0079] In step S24, when K is greater than D, step S28 carried out.
In step S28, the booming information group B regarding the search
result Bs is acquired. The information group B is acquired in large
quantities, and the information groups B are thus sorted in
accordance with the scores in step S30. In step S32, N cases out of
the information groups B are acquired and output in view of the
scores. Here, as an example, the upper N cases are output from the
information groups B.
[0080] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a score
calculation technique. Here, the intensity of the connection is
made to match the intensity of the booming. As an example, sorting
is carried out based on (1) a product of a connection score a and a
booming score b or (2) a sum of the connection score a and the
booming score b. Alternatively, (3) a log of the connection score
and the booming score is taken, and then sorting is carried out
based on the log. In any case, the score is higher when the
connection is stronger, and other methods are also possible as long
as the method has the higher score when the booming is
stronger.
[0081] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a specific
algorithm. It is assumed that the number of pieces of information
to be acquired is three (N=3), the number of hops to be searched is
two (K=2), and the celebrity A is connected to the content being
watched. In this case, the connection relations among the
celebrities A, B, C, and D are illustrated as connection scores of
FIG. 13A. In addition, booming scores of the information a', a'',
b', b'', c', c'', d', and d'' of the respective celebrities A, B,
C, and D are illustrated as scores of FIG. 13B.
[0082] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating that the
celebrities B to D are acquired by increasing the number of hops
with respect to the celebrity A. First, the celebrity A is acquired
based on the seed content 104 being watched. Here, the celebrity A
is a celebrity who actually appears in the content 104. Next, the
celebrities B and C are acquired as celebrities within a distance
of one hop. Next, the celebrity D is acquired as a celebrity within
a distance of two hops.
[0083] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of
calculating scores. Here, by the method (1) of FIG. 12, the score
is calculated from the product of the connection score and the
booming score. In FIGS. 13B and 15, the information a' and a'' is
information relevant to the celebrity A. In addition, the
information b' and b'' is information relevant to the celebrity B,
the information c' and c'' is information relevant to the celebrity
C, and the information d' and d'' is information relevant to the
celebrity D.
[0084] For example, since the information a' and a'' regarding the
celebrity A is directly relevant to the celebrity A, the connection
score is 1. In addition, as shown in FIG. 13B, the booming scores
of the information a' and a'' are 0.8 and 0.5, respectively.
Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 15, the score of the information a'
is 1.times.0.8=0.8. In addition, the score of the information a''
is 1.times.0.5=0.5.
[0085] Since the information b' and b'' regarding the celebrity B
is relevant to the celebrity B, the connection score is 0.6 as
shown in FIG. 13A. In addition, as shown in FIG. 13B, the booming
scores of the information b' and b'' are 0.8 and 0.4, respectively.
Accordingly, the score of the information b' is 0.6.times.0.8=0.48
as shown in FIG. 15. In addition, the score of the information b''
is 0.6.times.0.4=0.24.
[0086] According to the method described above, as shown in FIG.
15, scores for the information a', a'', b', b'', c', c'', d', and
d'' are calculated. As a result, ranking of each piece of
information may be carried out based on the scores by calculating
the scores based on the connection score and the booming score. The
three higher cases are extracted based on the scores and are output
as a result of step S32 of FIG. 11.
[0087] The score calculation is carried out by combining the
connection score, the booming score, and scores in which the
connection score and the booming score are combined (matching
scores). For example, as a method of acquiring the N cases, the
following variations may be considered:
N cases having high matching scores; information having a highest
booming score (matching score) for each of N celebrities having
high connection scores; N/n cases of celebrities, which are also
possible in each of n cases; and the method carried out on the
target having a booming score (connection score) of a predetermined
number or higher.
[0088] For example, in the first method, the three upper cases of
the matching scores are extracted (symbol circle "O" of FIG. 15).
In the second method, the three upper cases of the connection score
are extracted and the case having the highest booming score is
extracted (symbol "square" of FIG. 15). In addition, in the third
method, the three upper cases of the matching score are extracted
under the condition that the booming score be 0.7 or more (symbol
.DELTA. of FIG. 15).
[0089] In the case of the first method, since the information a'
and a'' directly relevant to the celebrity A has a high connection
score (=1), it is output as a result of step S32 even when the
booming score is relatively low. In addition, in the case of the
second method, the information a', b', and c' having high booming
scores may be extracted. In addition, in the case of the third
method, the information b' and d' having high booming scores may be
extracted even when the connection score is relatively low.
[0090] As such, by combining the connection with the booming, not
only the information having high relevance to the input information
but also the information having a trend but being relatively less
relevant to the input information may be extracted and output.
[0091] In addition, since the amount of calculating the scores is
reduced, the information of the booming data 208 may not be
unconditionally acquired when the booming score is lower than a
predetermined filtering threshold. This is because the data having
the low booming score may be regarded to have a low utility value
for the user. This allows the calculation amount to be reduced. In
addition, in this case, the filtering threshold using the booming
score may be calculated based on the connection score. That is, the
information having a high connection score and a strong connection
to the input information causes the booming filtering to be
weakened. Accordingly, more niche information may be extracted from
the information having a strong connection and thus search
according to the desire of the user becomes possible.
[0092] FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in
which each piece of information is disposed based on the calculated
score. FIG. 16A illustrates an example in which each piece of
information is sorted based on the value of the matching score. In
this case, the information having a higher matching score is
displayed in order from the upper side.
[0093] In addition, FIG. 16B illustrates an example in which
information is sorted based on the value of the connection score,
the information having a higher connection score is displayed in
order from the upper side (when the values of the connection scores
are equal to each other, the information is arranged side-to-side)
and is sorted based on the values of the booming scores, and the
information having a high booming score is displayed on the
left.
[0094] In addition, FIG. 16C illustrates an example in which the
connection score and the booming score are used for two-dimensional
mapping. In a similar way to FIG. 16B, information is sorted based
on the values of the connection scores, and the information having
a high connection score is displayed in order from the upper side
(when the values of the connection scores are equal to each other,
the information is arranged side-to-side). In addition, an example
in which the information is sorted based on the values of the
booming scores and the information having a high booming score is
displayed farther to the right is illustrated.
[0095] By carrying out an arrangement as shown in FIGS. 16A and
16C, it is possible to arrange the information in accordance with
the values of the booming and the connection to the seed content
104 as in the pieces of content 106 in the vertical band of FIG.
1.
[0096] When the connection score and the booming score are
calculated, a uniform calculation method may not be used for all
users, and individualization of the score calculation method may be
carried out for each user. FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram
illustrating the individualization of the score calculation method
by the user. FIG. 17A is a schematic diagram illustrating an
example of ratios of the connection score and the booming score
used by the users. In the example illustrated in FIG. 17A, the user
A has a ratio of 20% connection and 80% booming. In addition, the
user B has a ratio of 80% connection and 20% booming. The ratios
described above are multiplied by the calculations of the scores
according to the example of FIG. 15 such as the connection score
and the booming score to obtain the matching score. For example, in
the case of the user A, the matching score of the information a' is
(1.times.20%).times.(0.8.times.80%)=0.128.
[0097] The ratios shown in FIG. 17A may be changed in accordance
with the feedback result of the content watching history of the
user as shown in FIG. 17B. As shown in FIG. 17B, when the ratio of
any user is 50% connection and 50% booming (center of FIG. 17B),
the ratio is changed to a ratio of 60% connection and 40% booming
as shown on the left side of FIG. 17B when the user has watched
content having a strong connection score many times. In addition,
when the user has watched content having a strong booming score,
the ratio is changed to a ratio of 40% connection and 60% booming
as shown in FIG. 17B.
[0098] Next, variations of the present embodiment will be described
with reference to drawings. In the example described above,
although the information of the content 104 being watched on the
television receiver by the user is input to the input unit 202, the
present disclosure is not limited thereto. FIG. 18 is a schematic
diagram illustrating an example in which the user directly inputs
the celebrity on whom information is to be obtained. In the example
illustrated in FIG. 18, an example in which the output information
calculation unit 206 acquires information on the celebrity A when
the "celebrity group A" in conformity with the user's interests is
input to the input unit 202 is illustrated. In this case, for
example, among the pieces of content 108 in the horizontal band of
FIG. 1, the celebrity group A in conformity with the user's
interests is input to the input unit 202. In addition, the interest
information of the user may be acquired based on the operation
history of the user in the television receiver, and the acquired
interest information may be input to the input unit 202. The
subsequent process is the same as in FIG. 10, and the same process
is carried out using the "relevant person group A" of FIG. 8 as the
"celebrity group A."
[0099] In addition, although Wikipedia, Twitter, and so forth are
used as information sources of the connection data 210a and the
booming data 208a in FIGS. 10 and 18, IMDb, flickr, and so forth
may be used instead of Wikipedia as the information source. In
addition, instead of Twitter, an information source such as
Facebook, RSS, news articles, and so forth may be used. In
addition, information may be acquired from the general Web.
[0100] FIG. 19 illustrates an example in which the user directly
inputs the "celebrity A" from the television receiver. In this
case, the subsequent process is the same as in FIG. 10, and the
same process is carried out using the "relevant person group A" of
FIG. 10 as the "celebrity A."
[0101] FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in
which information other than that on the celebrity is input to the
input unit 202. In the example illustrated in FIG. 20, a place
group A of the content being watched (location, and so forth) is
input. The output information calculation unit 206 extracts a place
group B connected to the place group A from the connection data
210b of the place. Here, as an example, the place relevance
calculation unit 220 shown in FIG. 20 calculates the connection of
the place in advance based on flickr, and reflects the connection
on each place stored in the connection data 210b of the place as a
connection score.
[0102] In addition, a booming information extraction unit 230, as
an example, acquires booming data regarding the place group from
Twitter, and reflects the booming score in the information
regarding the place stored in the booming data 208b. The output
information calculation unit 206 acquires the strong booming
information regarding the place group B extracted from the
connection data 210b, from the booming data 208b. The output
information calculation unit 206 then outputs the information based
on the intensity of the relevance and the intensity of the
booming
[0103] FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in
which information on complementation between information is
provided. In the example illustrated in FIG. 21, the relevant
person group A (cast members, and so forth) of the content being
watched, and information on the user's interests are input to the
input unit 202. The output information calculation unit 206
extracts the celebrity group B located between the relevant person
group A and the information on the user's interests. That is, the
output information calculation unit 206 extracts the celebrity
group B connecting between the relevant person group A and the
information on the user's interests. The celebrity group B is an
information group located between the relevant person group A and
the information on the user's interests. The subsequent process is
the same as in FIG. 10.
[0104] According to the example illustrated in FIG. 21, the user
may acquire not only information regarding the content 104 being
watched and high booming information but also content in conformity
with the user's interests. Accordingly, the user may acquire the
information that is relevant to the content 104 being watched, is
trending in the world, and is also in conformity with the user's
interests. In addition, the information acquired herein corresponds
to the pieces of content 106 in the vertical band of FIG. 1, and in
particular, corresponds to the pieces of content 106 disposed below
the content 106a and arranged toward the pieces of content 108. By
scrolling the pieces of content 106, it is possible to selectively
and slowly acquire the content from the pieces of trending content
up to the content matching the user's interests.
[0105] Here, the information connecting two pieces of information
described with reference to FIG. 21 will be described in detail
based on FIG. 22. In the example illustrated in FIG. 22, the
content 109 (celebrity group B) is illustrated to connect the
content 104 being watched and the user's interests. The content
106a having strong relevance to the content 104 being watched is
extracted, and the celebrity group B is extracted as information
connecting the content 106a and the content 108 in which a user's
interest is strong. The celebrity group B corresponds to the
content disposed below the content 104a among the pieces of content
106 in the vertical band of FIG. 1. As such, the content 104 being
watched and the content 108 in conformity with the user's interests
are disposed at both ends, the information (celebrity group B) is
disposed therebetween, and it is possible to present the
information connecting the content 104 being watched and the
content 106 of the user's interests. Accordingly, the user may be
provided with the information close to the content 108 of the
user's interests from the content 104 being watched. As shown in
FIG. 22, more pieces of content may be arranged in accordance with
the booming scores in each of the pieces of content 109. Therefore,
by disposing the content according to the booming score between
adjacent pieces of content 109, a plurality of pieces of content
(corresponding to the pieces of content 106 in the vertical band of
FIG. 1) transitioning according to the interest and the booming may
be disposed between the content 104 and the content 108.
[0106] In FIG. 22, the content has stronger relevance to the
content 104 being watched and weaker relevance to the interest
content 106 when the celebrity group B is disposed to be closer to
the content 104 being watched (left side of FIG. 22). On the other
hand, the content has strong relevance to the interest content 106
and weaker relevance to the content 104 being watched when the
celebrity group B is disposed to be closer to the interest content
106 (right side of FIG. 22). By arranging the pieces of content 106
in the vertical band of FIG. 1 in this way, the user may freely
read from the content 106 having strong relevance to the content
104 being watched to the content 106 having strong relevance to the
interest content, thereby selecting desired content.
[0107] In addition, by acquiring the information toward the
direction opposite to the path from the content 106a to the content
108 in FIG. 22, the pieces of content disposed above the content
106a may be acquired in the pieces of content 106 in the vertical
band of FIG. 1.
[0108] In addition, although the information connecting the content
104 being watched and the interest content 108 is acquired in the
examples of FIGS. 21 and 22, the present embodiment is not limited
thereto. For example, the content being watched and the content
that is already recorded may be disposed at both ends of FIG. 22,
and information connecting the two pieces of content may be
disposed therebetween. In addition, different pieces of interest
content of two users may be disposed at both ends of FIG. 22, and
information connecting the two pieces of content may be disposed
therebetween.
[0109] In addition, acquired information may be changed in
consideration of environment. For example, the interest content of
persons who are with the user may be used to acquire information
connected to the interest content of the user. In addition, the
current location of the user may be determined, and information
connecting the information based on the place and the interest
content of the user may be acquired.
[0110] FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram illustrating a technique of
extracting the content 109 connecting the content 106a and the
content 108 in FIG. 22. The information connecting two pieces of
information (the content 106a and the content 108) is generated by
obtaining an optimal path connecting the two (the content 106a and
the content 108) among all connection data. The numbers shown in
FIG. 23 indicate connection scores between adjacent pieces of
content. In this case, a graph search algorithm such as the
Dijkstra method, A* algorithm, and so forth may be used.
[0111] In the example illustrated in FIG. 23A, the example in which
the content having a connection between the content 106a and the
content 108 is extracted, and a path 300 having the smallest number
of hops between the content 106a and the content 108 is obtained is
illustrated. In this case, the content 109a and the content 109b
located along the path 300 are extracted as information between two
pieces of content 106a and 108.
[0112] In addition, in the example illustrated in FIG. 23B, the
example in which the content having a connection between the
content 106a and the content 108 is extracted, and a path 310
having the highest connection score between the content 106a and
the content 108 is obtained is illustrated. In this case, the
pieces of content 109c to 109e located along the path 310 are
extracted as information between two pieces of content 106a and
108.
[0113] FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example
of FIG. 10. In the example illustrated in FIG. 24, the keyword
group A that the user wants to check every morning is registered in
advance. When a specific time arrives every morning or when the
user requests the content acquisition, the keyword group A is sent
to the output information calculation unit 206. The subsequent
process is the same as in FIG. 10, and the same process is carried
out using the "relevant person group A" of FIG. 10 as the "keyword
group A" and using the "relevant person group B" as the "keyword
group B."
[0114] According to the configuration of FIG. 24, the user
registers the keyword group A in advance, and it is thus possible
to acquire the strong booming information within the keyword group
B having strong relevance to the keyword group A.
[0115] According to the present embodiment described above, it is
possible to extract and output information in which the user is
likely to feel interest based on information connection. In
addition, it is possible to extract and output fresh information
that the user does not know about based on booming. It is thus
possible to effectively extract information that the user wants to
have among information flooding in large quantities.
[0116] It should be understood by those skilled in the art that
various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and
alterations may occur depending on design requirements and other
factors insofar as they are within the scope of the appended claims
or the equivalents thereof.
[0117] Note that the present technology may also be configured as
below.
1. An information processing apparatus including: a display; and a
controller to control: display of a current program; display of a
plurality of first images in a first arrangement, wherein each
first image corresponds to content of the current program; and
display of a plurality of second images in a second arrangement,
wherein each second image corresponds to content associated with a
user. 2. The information processing apparatus of 1, wherein the
first arrangement is a first axis. 3. The information processing
apparatus of 2, wherein the controller controls display of the
first images by aligning the first images on the first axis in
order based on relevance of each first image to the content of the
current program. 4. The information processing apparatus of 3,
wherein the controller controls scrolling of the first images,
wherein, in the event that the first images are scrolled in a
direction of increased relevancy of each first image to the content
of the current program, the controller controls the display of each
successive first image to be more relevant to a user preference,
and wherein, in the event that the first images are scrolled in a
direction of decreased relevancy of each first image to the content
of the current program, the controller controls the display of each
successive first image to be less relevant to the user preference.
5. The information processing apparatus of 4, including an output
information calculation unit configured to determine the relevance
of each first image to the content of the current program by
calculating a relevance score for each first image, the output
information calculation unit including: a relevance information
acquisition unit configured to extract information relevant to the
current program; a trend information acquisition unit configured to
acquire booming data for the extracted information, wherein the
booming data indicates a degree of popularity of the first image
relative to the content of the current program as determined during
a predetermined period of Internet usage; and an information
extraction unit configured to generate the relevance score based on
the extracted information and the booming data. 6. The information
processing apparatus of 1, wherein the second arrangement is a
second axis. 7. The information processing apparatus of 6, wherein
the controller controls display of the second images by aligning
the second images on the second axis in order based on a relevance
of each second image to the content associated with the user. 8.
The information processing apparatus of 1, wherein the controller
receives a selection of a first image or a second image, and
controls display of an updated program associated with the selected
image, wherein the updated program is displayed at a location where
the current program was displayed. 9. The information processing
apparatus of 8, wherein the controller controls the display by
removing the plurality of first images from the display and
displaying a plurality of third images in the first arrangement,
wherein each third image corresponds to content of the updated
program. 10. The information processing apparatus of 1, wherein:
the controller receives an instruction as input to change display
of the first images, and in the first arrangement, each of the
first images is displayed a predetermined distance from the current
program such that the first images surround the current program.
11. The information processing apparatus of 10, wherein a length of
the predetermined distance is proportional to a relevance of the
corresponding first image to the current program. 12. A
computer-implemented method executed by a processor, the method
including: displaying a current program; displaying a plurality of
first images in a first arrangement, wherein each first image
corresponds to content of the current program; and displaying a
plurality of second images in a second arrangement, wherein each
second image corresponds to content associated with a user. 13. The
method of 12, wherein the first arrangement is a first axis. 14.
The method of 13, wherein the first images are aligned on the first
axis in order based on relevance of each first image to the content
of the current program. 15. The method of 14, including: scrolling
of the first images; in the event that the first images are
scrolled in a direction of increased relevancy of each first image
to the content of the current program, displaying each successive
first image to be more relevant to a user preference; and in the
event that the first images are scrolled in a direction of
decreased relevancy of each first image to the content of the
current program, displaying each successive first image to be less
relevant to the user preference. 16. The method of 12, wherein the
second arrangement is a second axis. 17. The method of 16,
including aligning the second images on the second axis in order
based on a relevance of each second image to the content associated
with the user. 18. The method of 12, including: receiving a
selection of a first image or a second image; and displaying an
updated program associated with the selected image, wherein the
updated program is displayed at a location where the current
program was displayed. 19. The method of 18, including: removing
the plurality of first images from the display; and displaying a
plurality of third images in the first arrangement, wherein each
third image corresponds to content of the updated program. 20. The
method of 12, including: receiving an instruction as input to
change display of the first images, and in the first arrangement,
displaying each of the first images a predetermined distance from
the current program such that the first images surround the current
program. 21. The method of 20, wherein a length of the
predetermined distance is proportional to a relevance of the
corresponding first image to the current program. 22. The method of
12, including determining the relevance of each first image to the
content of the current program by calculating a relevance score for
each first image. 23. The method of 22, wherein calculating the
relevance score includes combining a connection score and a booming
score, the connection score indicating a degree of relevance of
information extracted from the current program, and the booming
score indicating a degree of popularity of the first image relative
to the content of the current program as determined during a
predetermined period of Internet usage.
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST
[0118] 100 System [0119] 202 Input unit [0120] 206 Output
information calculation unit [0121] 206a Relevance information
acquisition unit [0122] 206b Trend information acquisition unit
[0123] 206c Information extraction unit [0124] 207 Display control
unit
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